X5M Catless Downpipe early impressions

[StatenEye]

Hi all,

As most of you know, I recently in stalled AA catless DPs in the X5M. Here are my impressions, video to be posted tonight or tom morning.

Smell; Outside the car there is a faint gaseous/oil odor, very very faint. At a stop light I sometimes notice a faint smell with the windows down but usually only if I was recently under heavy acceleration. With the windows up, I've not noticed any odor at all. I feel totally comfortable transporting my 2yo son in the car after the modification. For me, its safe to say the gas fumes concern is blown out of proportion.

Sound; I have a Megan Racing exhaust installed, which sounded a 20% louder than stock with the same tone and note. With the MR exhaust I was hearing a loud whooshing sound at WOT.. I now blame this sound on the stock cats, that sound now gone.. The exhaust note is now deep at low rpms and raspy and violent at high rpms. It burbles when releasing the accelerator, especially on the down shift. On heavy acceleration is roars and rumbles up to the shift point and then it gets raspy and you hear a loud cracking sound between gear changes. Very enjoyable sound. similar to this

Performance; I have the Velos S2 tune, accommodating for catless DPs. The car was an animal before the catless pipes but when I would press the accelerator I had to wait for the turbos to spool and then I would be sling shot into acceleration. With the catless pipes the car literally feels like a naturally aspirated v8. The acceleration is the smoothest I have ever experienced, and the throttle response is immediate.

Do i recommend?
Pros
Sound - puts the aural experience in line with the performance.
Performance - Immediate throttle response and ultra smooth acceleration. For me its a must on all turbo cars.

Cons
Sound - Reduces luxury feel. Very loud idle cycle on cold start.
Smell - Sometimes you may notice a oily/gaseous odor

Yes i recommend, very much so.

[Parise2713]

Very nice write up. All I hear is that the smell is awful so I'm glad that you can contradict that. Looking forward to seeing the video. Enjoy it.

[m5 guy]

Thanks for the writeup!

[JeST]

Nice! Would love to hear the truck in person if you could make it to the C&C in Yorktown Heights, NY some time.

[gixxerboy63]

Great write up!
Thank you!

[StatenEye]

No problem guys, I did have an O2 sensor go bad before I installed the DPs. I was thinking the Velos tune would be able to code that out but since i'm not receiving any reading from the downstream sensor it will need to be replaced. So the heat shields are off as of last night, no video until tonight after I reinstall the O2 sensor... hopefully.

[rennis]

I wish the S63 had the same exhaust manifold layout as the N63. I know it creates more power, but the sound just doesn't do it for me. N gets you a deep V8 sound. The S sounds sporty, but is the weirdest sounding V8 on the planet.

[StatenEye]

Originally Posted by rennis

I wish the S63 had the same exhaust manifold layout as the N63. I know it creates more power, but the sound just doesn't do it for me. N gets you a deep V8 sound. The S sounds sporty, but is the weirdest sounding V8 on the planet.

I agree the N63 sounds more like an beefy NA V8 truck while the S63 sounds more sporty but have you heard a catless S63 in person, savage. If thats sounds not for you then we cant be friends.

[mhkm]

Nice write up staten. My thoughts exactly.
Welcome to the club and enjoy!

[m5 guy]

:eargasm:

[novablackm3]

watch the the cold start your neighbors may hate you lol. this is why I have a ford fusion hybrid.

I'm still debating on a tune but I love the dp(catted) and Megan setup. 47k strong miles on the combo.

[Tremek]

Thanks for the write-up and video! Do you have any other videos of your car, StatenEye?

My Megan muffler should be here tomorrow, and now I need to find downpipes. Looking forward to replicating this.

[infamousdiz]

It was way too loud for a DD for me, the wife knew it was me half a mile away. If I was able to have it that loud via a switch I would pay Big money for that...Im taking about putting it through the cats and a exhaust that is cat free

[X5M 888]

Nice job !! The cold start was the reason I had to get rid of them . Was crazy Loud with the esienmann exhuast . Funny story to that I was in the city one day . Started the car and a family was walking by with a senior citizen . Gave the old guy a scare and probably almost a heart attack . Family members gave me a dirty look .��

[rennis]

Originally Posted by StatenEye 535i

I agree the N63 sounds more like an beefy NA V8 truck while the S63 sounds more sporty but have you heard a catless S63 in person, savage. If thats sounds not for you then we cant be friends.

I hate to lose a friend, but I can't agree on the sound, sorry man. ;(

[gixxerboy63]

I like it!
(a lot)

[StatenEye]

Here is an interior video to show the noise level in the cabin with the windows open, I also close the windows near the end to show how it sounds cruising around. I did some heavy pulls, idling at lights and cruising.

https://vid.me/Awcu

So far; yes, the cold starts are loud but its only 20 seconds then it drops down to an acceptable level

Windows closed in drive mode the sound is very acceptable
Windows down in D still very acceptable.
When getting on the gas in S mode the car is noisy but it sounds great.

I know the video is poor and the sound is one dimensional, it doesn't capture the tone at all really but I wanted to show the noise level and how its acceptable when you want it to be but also loud when you're pushing her.

[Cattivo]

I like the sound compared to my stock engine and exhaust, i may have to come down to SI and have you hook up my truck lol

[m5 guy]

Thank you for posting that. Favorite part was how quite it was at the end with the windows up. Definitely reassuring. Exhaust is next on my list so this is great!

[theonesupreme]

LOL bro, if you have time, stop by......i wanna see the different LOL

[StatenEye]

Originally Posted by gixxerboy63

I like it!
(a lot)

Yeah, its a great sound for sure.

Originally Posted by Cattivo

I like the sound compared to my stock engine and exhaust, i may have to come down to SI and have you hook up my truck lol

Haha, its a tough job. Most difficult of all DP installs thus far for me.

Originally Posted by m3 guy

Thank you for posting that. Favorite part was how quite it was at the end with the windows up. Definitely reassuring. Exhaust is next on my list so this is great!

Yea its totally acceptable. Im not going to say its as silent as stock but its fine on the highway, especially with music on.

Originally Posted by theonesupreme

LOL bro, if you have time, stop by......i wanna see the different LOL

I have to get my rear bumper resprayed then ill come out to a meet. Dealer backed into ice so i'm owed a respray. Debating one whether or not ill ask them to spray the diffuser area around the exhaust tips gloss black.

[JeST]

If we can get you, Cattivo, theonesupreme, and I together we can compare 4 different exhaust tones.

:cough: Cars and Coffee in Yorktown Heights :cough: